Treasure Hunters: Book of Secrets
by FantasyandHistory
Summary: Sequel to 'Treasure Hunters'. Ben, Alex, Riley, and Abigail are back, this time to clear the Gates family name and find the legendary city of gold. I do not own 'National Treasure!
1. Of Breakups and Assassination Plots

Hello and welcome to my 'Treasure Hunters' sequel! :) Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy! Oh and I do not own 'National Treasure', only Alex!

Chapter One

Of Breakups and Assassination Plots

"I just don't understand him sometimes. He can be so frustrating-" Abigail cut herself off, pausing in her rant, and looked across the table to Alex. "I'm ranting again, aren't I?"

Alex gave a little shrug while sipping her coffee. After much persuasion, she had finally managed to get Abigail out of the house, where she had cooped herself up following her break up with Ben. They now sat in a noisy coffee shop which, in Alex's opinion, was better than being alone in that big mansion.

"And you probably don't like to hear me talk negative about your brother. You probably think I'm a bitch now for breaking his heart."

Alex shrugged. "Hey, he's my brother, I know how he can be. But he's my brother and you're my friend, so I'm not taking sides. But I do think you guys should talk." Okay, she was a little upset with Abigail for kicking Ben out of their shared mansion, but she also wanted them to be together and happy like they had been before.

"Yeah," sighed Abigail, but sounded distant. Then she shook her head. "But enough about me and Ben. How are you - oh!" Now she smirked. "How are things with you and Riley?"

At this, Alex tried - and failed - to hide a huge smile. Abigail definitely caught this.

"Alex!" she cried, reaching out and lightly hitting Alex's wrist. "Tell me! Did he ask you out?! He did, didn't he?!"

"Yes," said Alex, grinning widely. "But we're not making a huge deal about it right now."

Abigail gasped. "Finally!" she exclaimed. "Took long enough!"

"You sound like my brother," Alex chuckled. "We were both really busy after finding the treasure, and Riley was finishing up his book and went on tour with it."

"Well I'm happy for you both."

"Thanks." Alex looked at her watch. "Yikes, I should get going - don't want to be late for the lecture." She downed the rest of her coffee and stood. "You going to be alright?"

Abigail nodded. "What lecture is this again?"

Alex smiled. "Thomas Gates and President Lincoln."

* * *

"The Knights of the Golden Circle was a Southern extremist group operating in the north to subvert Union forces," Ben explained to the lecture hall. "Had Thomas not destroyed those legendary missing pages from the Booth diary, the killers may have found a vast treasure of gold, and the Union may have lost the Civil War, leaving the past we know to be very different. Thank you."

Alex applauded along with the rest of the audience from her front row seat, adding a few cheers as well.

Doctor Nichols took the stage. "I'd like to thank Ben, Patrick, and Alex Gates-" He gestured to her and her father who stood and joined him and Ben on stage by the podium. "-And say what a wonderful addition Thomas Gates will be to our civilian heroes exhibition."

"Thank you Doctor Nichols," said Patrick. "I only wish my grandfather could be here to witness this wonderful day."

"Excuse me," called a man from the back. "I have a question I'd like to ask." The three Gateses turned to look into the back row. "What do you think ever happened to that Booth diary page that was pulled from the fire?"

"We may never know," Ben answered.

"Perhaps," said the man. "Perhaps not." His face was shrouded in shadow. "You see, I have one of those great-great-granddaddies myself, just like you, way up in my family tree, by the name of Silas Wilkinson. He used to tell a story about the night Lincoln was shot and as he tells it, Booth didn't seek out Thomas Gates regarding a treasure map that night, it was Thomas who called the meeting. A meeting to plan the assassination of Abraham Lincoln."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Ben broke it. "How absurd."

"That's a lie!" cried Patrick. Alex scoffed.

The man rose to his feet and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a small piece of parchment. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the missing pages from the diary of John Wilkes Booth, with the name Thomas Gates written on a list along with all the other killers."

 _And so the next adventure begins! Hope you enjoyed this first chapter, thanks so much for reading! :)_


	2. Truth or Lies?

Hello welcome back! :) Here's the next chapter for you!

Chapter Two

Truth or Lies?

Once the rest of the audience had cleared out of the hall, Doctor Nichols, Ben, Alex, Patrick, and the mysterious man stood on stage examining the diary page. Suddenly it seemed eerily empty in the lecture hall.

"And Latin?" said Doctor Nichols, examining the writing.

"Booth was a student of Latin," explained the man. "He shouted ' _Sic semper tyrannis_ ' after he shot Lincoln. 'Thus always to-" he began to translate.

"'Thus always to tyrants,'" Patrick jumped in. "We know."

Ben stepped forward to examine the page closer. "'Thomas Gates, _artifex_ ," he read aloud.

"Designer," Alex translated.

"Designer," agreed the man. "Or mastermind."

"We know what it means," Ben assured him.

"He could have planned the assassination."

"Oh, I see." Ben's words were dripping with sarcasm.

"It could mean mastermind of anything," Alex added.

"Exactly." Patrick pointed to the burned edge of the page. "See that, burned out right there." If something else had been written after _artifex_ , it had been burned away.

"May I, Mr..." said Doctor Nichols.

"Wilkinson," the man answered.

"Mr. Wilkinson. I'll just see if this new page matches the diary." He withdrew the famed diary carefully from the display case.

"This is an outrage," cried Patrick, obviously very upset. "You're calling my grandfather a liar."

"Well with all due respect sir now you're calling my great-great-granddaddy a liar."

"Yes sir, I am!" spat back Patrick. "This isn't some garbage from a history book, my grandfather told me this story himself. I could see the truth of it in his eyes!"

"I'm sorry sir, I truly am. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you."

"Dad, calm down," said Alex, placing a supportive hand on her father's arm. Then she turned to Wilkinson. "And thank you Mr. Wilkinson, you've done enough."

"We'll test this thoroughly Patrick, to authenticate it," assured Doctor Nichols. He aligned the page from Wilkinson with one of the torn edges in the diary. Everyone held their breath. Ben and Alex exchanged a glance.

Patrick gasped. "It can't be."

The page fit perfectly, like the missing piece of a puzzle.

 _No! Not Thomas! ;) haha! Sorry it's such a short chapter, they'll get longer as the story continues I promise! Thanks so much for reading!_


	3. Help From a Friend

Hello! Here's chapter three!

Chapter Three

Help From a Friend

Meanwhile, Riley slumped back into his chair behind the table full of copies of his book that apparently no one wanted to buy. Today was just not his day. First, no one wanted to buy his book, and now, his beloved Ferrari was gone. Stupid towing company.

Heaving a defeated sigh he began packing away his books - maybe him packing up would catch the eye of someone. Come on, who didn't love a good conspiracy theory?

"Aww, did I miss it? I was really hoping to get my copy signed by the author. The great Riley Poole himself."

Instantly, his day brightened. He looked up into the smiling face of Alex, who set her own copy of his book down on the table.

"I might be able to make an exception for my biggest fan," he said, adjusting his glasses. "Did you see the acknowledgments?"

"Yes, I did. That was very sweet. So how's it been? Busy?"

"Oh yeah, lineups out the door," he answered sarcastically, while clicking his pen and signing her book.

"I'm sorry Ri."

"Well, at least I know someone likes it." He wrote a little message _\- to my biggest fan, thanks for your support, love Riley_ \- followed by his signature, closed the book, and handed it back to her. "Hey, this actually works out, you can help me carry some books."

"Yeah for sure. Where did you park?"

"Uh, well, funny story..."

* * *

A little while later the two, both with their arms full of books, and in Riley's case a life-size cardboard cut-out of himself as well, arrived at Riley's apartment. Ben sat on the front steps reading while he waited for them.

"What happened to the Ferrari?" he asked when he saw them.

"Oh, you know, it's such a nice day we thought we'd walk. Well," Riley said with a forced smile. "Long story short - it got towed and I got slapped with a HUGE fine - plus interest."

"Yikes," Ben winced.

"But enough about me, what's new with you?"

"Well, my girlfriend kicked me out so I'm back to living with my dad, and our family killed President Lincoln," Ben finished. "But other than that, not much else is new."

Riley nodded. "Alright." He looked to Alex who nodded in confirmation.

Ben looked at his friend. "We need your help."

 _Yay, Riley's back! ;) I was originally going to have him and Alex be an official couple from the start of this story, but then I finished watching the movie and I found the perfect part for that to happen later on, so I'm excited! Thanks so much for reading guys!_


	4. Breaking and Entering

Hello! So sorry for the delay! Here's the next chapter!

Chapter Four

Breaking and Entering

"I can't believe you have to break into your own house," Riley muttered as the three walked across the spacious grounds of the mansion that Abigail and Ben used to share and up to the front entrance. "Can't you just ask Abigail to help?"

"Yeah, are things really that bad?" asked Alex.

"She changed the alarm code on me guys, she's not going to help us."

"Yikes..."

"Alright-" Riley removed his backpack. "We have thirty seconds to disable the alarm - go!"

The three entered the house. Riley went over to the alarm pad which was beeping and began to work his magic. "So, I know I'm probably going to regret asking this," he said over the ringing of the alarm. "But what happened between you and Abigail?"

"I don't know, you know, I don't know," answered Ben. "She started using the word 'so' a lot. Like, 'so, I guess my opinion doesn't matter. So, you seem to always know what's best. So, I guess I'm invisible.' So now I've moved out, back living with my Dad, and we're dividing up the furniture." He finished with a shrug.

"I'm sorry Big Brother," Alex said. Ben only shrugged again.

"Alrighty, and we're good." Riley pushed a button and the alarm fell silent.

"Hey, you did that in twenty-five seconds," Alex said, impressed.

Riley grinned. "That's why I tell people to get a dog."

Ben led the way upstairs to Abigail's office. He opened the top desk drawer and withdrew her ID badge.

"First stealing Abigail's fingerprints, now her ID," Alex said. "Some things never change."

Just as they were about to leave the office, they saw lights out in front of the house. A sleek black car pulled into the driveway.

"That's not Abigail's car," remarked Ben. The three watched as a man in a suit got out of the driver's seat and went to open the passenger side door. Ben sighed. "She was on a date." Alex put a hand on her brother's arm apologetically. She knew he was still crazy for Abigail, despite what he might say.

"Hey, isn't that the guy, the White House guy?" said Riley of Abigail's date.

"Yeah, Conner," said Ben.

"Conner," repeated Riley. Then he chuckled. "He's weird! She must really like him-" Alex gave him a nudge to shut him up.

"Come on," said Ben. "Let's go."

* * *

"Oh - that's actually really weird," remarked Abigail when she entered the house but the alarm didn't sound. She had set it before she left.

"Oh, Abigail." She turned at the familiar voice and saw Ben enter the hall, a box under his arm.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Oh I just needed to grab some things." He turned to Conner. "Conner, nice to see you again."

"Gates," replied Conner.

"How did you get in?" Abigail demanded. When Ben didn't answer she heaved a heavy sigh and placed her hands on her hips. "Riley!" she called. "Come out here! You too Alex!"

Moments later both Riley and Alex emerged, looking like guilty children. Abigail knew them too well - where Ben was, Riley and Alex usually followed.

"Hey Abigail," said Riley. "Nice to see you. Love what you've done to the house by the way. Oh, and I sent you a copy of my book, have you had the chance to-"

"No I haven't read it yet," she cut him off.

"Oh, yeah, no problem. You've been busy, I get it." Then he turned to Conner. "Hey, I know you, you're the White House curator." He shook Conner's hand. "I'm Riley, we met before."

"Right, you're Ben's assistant."

"What?"

"And you're Ben's sister?" Conner turned to Alex.

"Yup, that's me. Alex."

There was a pause. "Uh, maybe I should go," Conner said, turning back to Abigail. It wasn't hard to miss the height of tension in the room.

"Awkward," mumbled Riley in a sing-song voice, as though it would help.

"I'm really sorry," Abigail apologized.

Finally, Conner left. Now Abigail fully turned her attention - and anger - to Ben. "I cannot believe you broke in! What did you take?"

"Just my things-" She snatched the box from his hands and then held out her hand. "Hand it over Ben." She was so smart. She knew exactly what they had been up to.

He reluctantly gave her her ID badge. "I need to see the Booth diary page."

"You saw the page yourself there is no treasure map on it!" Oh Abigail, you know him so well.

"No it's a cipher leading to a treasure map," Ben explained.

"Huh, this is sounding awfully familiar," piped up Riley.

"Did anyone spectral-image the page?" Ben asked.

"No need to," she said, storming past him. "The ink is clearly visible."

"It could have been erased, or faded. It has been over a hundred years, so it's possible. You're the Director of Document Conservation you know all this."

"It's not up to me," argued Abigail. "It's not my department."

"That department reports to your department! Come on Abigail, just one look under infrared." A pause. Nothing. "You can have the Boston Tea Tables," he tried.

Abigail stopped walking. Slowly, she turned around, a sly smile on her face. "Both of them?"

 _Yay the whole gang is back together again - sort of! ;) Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed!_


	5. Innocent or Guilty?

Hello! So sorry again for such a delay! Here's the next chapter!

Chapter Five

Innocent or Guilty?

"'Ben's assistant'? Really?" mumbled Riley under his breath. Alex patted him on the arm. He was still bothered by this. He sighed and removed his glasses. "Okay, we've been looking at this page for hours."

"It's been half an hour," corrected Ben, still analyzing the page intently on the screen.

"There's nothing there," argued Riley.

"Riley's right Ben," agreed Abigail. "I really don't think we're going to find anything."

"Look at it this way, in a hundred years, no one's going to remember anyone involved in the Lincoln assassination besides Booth," Riley said in an attempt to be comforting.

"That's not true," argued Ben. "Have you ever heard the expression 'his name is mud'?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you know the origin of the expression?"

"Does anyone but you?"

"Doctor Samuel Mudd was convicted of being a co-conspirator in Lincoln's assassination," piped up Alex. "The evidence was circumstantial and he was later pardoned."

"But it didn't matter," continued Ben. "Mudd's name still lives in infamy. I will not let Thomas's name be mud."

"Okay, but everyone else other than you two..."

"You're missing the point Riley. This is one of the darkest times in our history and I refuse to believe that my ancestor played a part in it."

"Guys-" Abigail spoke up then, eyeing the screen intently. "Look at this." She pointed to a brown smudge on the page.

"Oh-" Ben leaned in closer for a better look. "Oh well that's quite something..."

"Yeah, it says smudge," said Riley.

Alex smacked his arm for his sarcasm but laughed.

"I think its residual ink from the facing page. Flip it," said Ben. Abigail did so. "The letters are backwards - it's a cipher."

"Yes, it is." Now Abigail was smiling.

"See how the letters are coupled," said Ben, pointing. "Playfair ciphers encode letters in pairs. This could prove his story!"

"Unless you decode the cipher this doesn't prove a theory," Abigail reminded him.

"That's okay, that's okay. All we need is a five-letter keyword."

"Okay," said Riley, getting into it now. "What's the keyword?"

"I don't know yet..."

"Alright... Well there's a billion words in the English language-"

"Look out, here comes the writer." Alex grinned.

"There's got to be a logical way to do this. Let's start at the beginning. A. Aardvark - hey maybe we should write these down..."

Abigail printed out a copy of the page for Ben. "You know, I don't want to rain on your parade here Ben, but I don't think this is going to stop Doctor Nichols from announcing the discovery of the page tomorrow."

"No, no, wait, can't you ask him to wait until we prove Thomas's innocence?" They were so close now.

Abigail sighed and turned to him. "What if he isn't?"

 _Ooooo! Haha hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading! And sorry again for the delay - university is fun but busy!_


	6. Playing With Ciphers

Chapter Six

Playing With Ciphers

"Bacon." Riley typed the potential keyword into the cipher decoder program. Nothing. "Naw, that's stupid."

"You never know." Alex crossed out the word. The list seemed never ending.

"Keep trying," urged Ben.

"You want to take over?" sighed Riley.

In the next room over, Patrick sat in his bathrobe watching footage of Doctor Nichols announcing the discovery of the page online, the doctor thoroughly thanking the Wilkinson family for unveiling this new conspirator.

"Dad would you stop watching that, it's not helping," Alex said. She and Ben came to check on their father. She closed the laptop.

"It's on the internet," Patrick sighed. "No stopping it now."

"We know the truth," said Ben. "That's all that matters. You heard the story from Grandpa Charles."

"But that's a story. This guy's got evidence, he has everything. We have a story, we have nothing." He sighed heavily. "For a brief moment the Gates family could look up and hold our heads high. Now were just a bunch of crazies again."

"But we're not liars," Ben said firmly. "Look, Wilkinson's saying that Thomas Gates is a mastermind in one of the darkest hours of U.S. history, and he burned the diary page to try and cover that up." He spoke mockingly. "But we know that he burned that page to keep Booth's men from finding the treasure. And there's only one way to prove it."

"You've got to find the treasure."

"We've got to find the treasure! And you're going to help. So come on, let's here the story again."

Patrick sighed but obeyed. "Grandpa heard his father say 'treasure map'," he began, recalling the story. "Then there was a commotion-"

"Yeah we got all that. Was there anything else? Anything after that? Something he said, something he did, anything at all?"

Patrick thought for a moment. Then his face brightened with realization. "Wait a minute."

"What?"

Patrick leaned in closer, his son and daughter doing the same. "He took his son's hand, looked him in the eye, and with his dying breath said, 'the debt that all men pay'."

"The debt that all men pay," repeated Ben.

"The debt everyone pays," Alex interpreted further.

"The debt Thomas paid," Patrick finalized. "His death."

"Well that's a five letter word." Ben jumped up and hurried back into the dining room where Riley was still trying to figure out the key word.

"Ri, try death!" Alex called, she and her father following.

"What?"

"Death, try death, it's the debt all pay." Now Ben, Alex, and Patrick all crowded around Riley and his computer. He tried the word, a series of jumbled letters appearing. Now they were getting somewhere.

"Laba - lab, labola - it's gibberish," Riley concluded.

"Laboulaye!" cried Ben.

"Laboulaye!" his father and sister chorused.

"Laboulaye!" Riley joined in. "What is it?"

"It's a who, Édouard Laboulaye," Ben explained while beginning to rush around. "Where's the phone?"

"I don't know Son, I can't find anything in this mess," said Patrick, nodding to the clutter that was his dining room.

"It's temporary until I find a new place."

"Find the old one, I like her."

Finally, Ben located the phone and called Abigail. "We cracked the cipher!" he announced, all giddy and excited, as soon as she answered. "It's Laboulaye!" He listened to her response. "Or, maybe, there was a treasure map like Thomas said there was and Laboulaye had it. We've only got a partial on the next word, L, A, D." He began pacing as he usually did when thinking about history.

"Aladdin! Aladdin?" tried Riley.

"Lady!" cried Alex.

"Thank you Little Sis!" cheered Ben. "Laboulaye Lady. Do you know what Laboulaye was planning around the time of the assassination?" he asked into the phone. "There's a map, or a clue to a map, on the Statue-" There was a click and the line went dead. He scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. "She hung up on me."

"She took your call, that was good," said Patrick.

"What statue?" asked Riley.

"Of Liberty," answered Alex.

He absorbed this. "Okay, wait. You're saying that there's a map on the Statue of Liberty? That's almost even more crazy than the Declaration of Independence!"

"Laboulaye was a Mason, they built clues into everything," explained Patrick.

"Hey, did you learn that from my book?"

There was an awkward pause. "So, the only question now is which Statue," Patrick said, breaking the silence.

"Exactly! Wait, is there more than one?"

Patrick looked discouraged and Alex couldn't help but giggle. Her father was no doubt a little unsure of the man she was dating's lack of history knowledge. "Yes Riley. There are three, actually. There's the one in New York, one in the Luxembourg Garden-"

"But he only referred to one as his lady," said Alex, an excited glint in her eyes.

"Okay, and where's that one?"

Brother and sister exchanged an excited glance. "We're going to Paris," said Alex.

Ben nodded. "We're going to Paris."

 _Yay, Paris here we come! ;)_ _I'm back from my summer course so (hopefully) there will be more regular updates now!_ _Haha thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed!_


	7. Paris!

Chapter Seven

Paris!

"This is, like, impossible what you're doing," Alex commented, watching as Riley used his remote-control helicopter to scan the Paris Statue of Liberty.

"Glad you're enjoying it," he replied with a smile, a flirty edge to his voice.

"Ah hem-" Ben cleared his throat. As much as he had been rooting for his sister and friend to finally get together, he hadn't thought much of the consequences: seeing his friend and sister be all flirty and romantic. This was probably how Alex felt watching him and Abigail. "I agree, it's really cool, but could we please focus. Laboulaye had to leave a clue somewhere on here. Try moving in on the torch."

"Okay, just a second, it's not as easy as it looks-"

"Oh, can I try, please?!" asked Alex.

Riley placed the controller in her hands and showed her how to work all the buttons.

Someone speaking French caught their attention and they turned to see two police officers on bicycles ride up.

"Excuse me officer, may we help you?" said Ben.

"Ah Americans. Of course you see no problem with disturbing everyone's pleasant morning with your buzzing there."

"Do you know how much our constitution was influenced by your man, Montesquieu?" Ben asked. The policemen here impressed by his knowledge of Montesquieu and they began a conversation, providing enough distraction for Riley and Alex to continue the search. Well done Ben.

"Got it," Riley suddenly said.

"You got it," she said excitedly.

"Ben!" They hurried across the street to join him and the officers. "We found it! Hope you read French." Riley handed him the control which displayed a picture of the clue he'd taken with the helicopter.

"May I?" asked one of the officers.

"Thank you." Ben passed him the control.

"He's a cop," Riley hissed.

"Let's see... 'across the sea these twins stand resolute to preserve what we are looking for. Laboulaye, 1786.'"

"It's a clue!" cheered Riley.

"'These twins stand resolute'." Ben thought for a moment. "Let's see... Resolute twins..." He began the classic Ben pace and mutter of history facts until they all aligned. "Oh - but how about a ship?"

" _HMS Resolute_?" said Alex.

"That's a ship?" questioned Riley.

"Bingo! A British ship that got lost in the Arctic in the 1800s, then salvaged by American whalers and sent back to England by Congress."

"And when the ship was finally retired Queen Victoria had two desks made from its timbers," added Alex. Now the siblings were standing close, facing each other, both wearing the same looks of excitement.

"And there you have it," announced Ben. "Resolute twins!"

"Uh..." The officers looked astonished. "And where are the desks now?"

"The closest one would be in London. Hey Riley, how fast can we get to Buckingham Palace?" asked Ben.

"I don't know, why don't you ask your new best friend?" mumbled Riley.

The officer who had been speaking to them said something in French to the other officer who rode away. "He's going to call you a cab."

"Thank you."

Then the officer turned to Riley. "And that helicopter's yours, yes?"

"Yes it is," Riley said proudly.

"Okay, then you get the ticket."

Riley gave a fake laugh. "Great!"

* * *

"I can't believe we're actually going to break into the Queen's office," said Alex. She, Ben, and Riley were crowded around Riley's laptop trying to figure out how to obtain their next clue.

"So the Queen's office is here." Riley pointed to the diagram he had pulled up on his computer. The three were in their hotel room in London. "The elevator'll get you close, but the only direct access is through security."

"Well that should be exciting," said Ben.

"Nothing our great Riley Poole can't handle," said Alex, patting the young man on the shoulder. Her cellphone rang then and she saw that it was her dad. She couldn't wait to fill him in. "Hey Dad!"

" _Alex-_ " He cut in almost immediately. "- _The house was broken into last night, I was attacked_."

Both Ben and Riley turned sharply to face her when she gasped. "Oh my God-"

"What?" Ben whispered, coming over.

"Call the police, we're coming home."

" _What good would that do? They didn't take anything, and besides, I'm fine_."

"But Dad-"

"What happened?" Ben pressed.

"Someone broke into the house and attacked him!"

"Can I?" Ben held out his hand for the phone and she gave it to him. "Hi, Dad? What happened?" He listened and sighed. "You're sure? Okay, well we're in London now, we think the next clue's in Buckingham Palace. We have an appointment with the curator tomorrow afternoon. Okay, thanks Dad, bye." He hung up and handed the phone back to his sister. "Someone else is after the treasure."

"Of course there's someone else after the treasure. It's the axiom of treasure hunting," said Riley.

"Well," said Ben. "We just have to get there first."

 _Thank you for the reviews! And, here's the Paris chapter, I hope you enjoyed - onto London next! :) Thanks so much for reading!_


	8. London!

Chapter Eight

London!

 _"Okay it's teatime chaps,"_ came Riley's voice over the radio. Both Ben and Alex had a little earpiece so they could communicate between the three of them. Ben took a small bottle of whisky and patted some on his tongue and face, ready to make a scene. Alex positioned herself around the corner, ready to approach him and start an argument.

"Abigail," he suddenly cried.

 _"Abigail? What's she doing here?"_

"What are you doing here?"

Alex peeked around the corner to see that indeed, Abigail was there.

"Your dad called. He said your next clue was here."

 _"She's really here? Drop her, lose her."_

"Look Ben, I want to help."

"Well that's very nice but it's kind of a bad time right now," Ben admitted.

Now she appeared offended. "A bad time? Right now?"

"It's a bad time."

"Okay... I just flew all the way to London to offer my help-"

" _Ben, remember the plan,"_ Alex said.

"Well Abigail you're the one who's making a scene right now."

She scoffed. "I am not making a scene right now."

" _No, we want to make a scene,"_ Riley reminded him.

"Well then fine!" Ben suddenly yelled, catching the attention of everyone else in the hall. "If that's what you want then let's have it out right now!"

" _Ah, so subtle."_

"Oh, let me guess, it's the wrong time, it's the wrong place. I'm wrong again!" Ben began marching down the stairs exaggeratedly as he spoke, his voice echoing throughout the hall, catching the attention of all the other guests. Abigail looked very confused and startled as he continued yelling.

After watching for a couple of minutes, Alex believed she caught on to what her brother was trying to do: stick to the original plan of making a scene, but include Abigail. She started down the stairs towards them. "Wow, really?" They turned to face her, as did all the other guests who had been watching the arguing couple. "I'm gone for what, five minutes, just popped to the bathroom, and you guys are already biting each other's heads off. Unbelievable! I can't go anywhere with you guys, you're so immature. How embarrassing."

They started yelling again, and she tried to break into their argument again, but they were too busy shouting at each other. Abigail must have caught on and thankfully played along.

"Abigail, just because I answer a question quickly doesn't mean it's wrong."

"Not if the answer's something we have to figure out together as a couple, that's what couples do Ben!"

"Hey- guys-" Alex tried to break in and share in the argument, but they were too busy screaming at each other. She stepped back, just as a security guard approached them.

"Sir, Miss, please take this outside." Now security was involved.

"Oh now look what you've done-" Ben's actions were becoming more and more exaggerated by the minute.

Alex really ended up watching the scene take place more than be a part of it - Ben and Abigail were having a couple's argument, and besides, they were acting so over the top that Alex couldn't help but be too distracted watching them to throw in her own argument. Their voices grew louder and louder and Ben kept acting more and more drunk.

" _Feeling left out?_ " came Riley's voice over the radio, as though he could read her thoughts. She wasn't sure if there was a way for him to disconnect Ben's radio so he could only talk to her. That or Ben was too occupied with his act to hear him.

"Yeah, a little," she replied.

" _Yeah..."_

Alex then clasped a hand over her mouth to try and hold back a laugh when Ben gave a childish "Wheee!" and slid down the banister backwards, only to be stopped by another security guard.

" _Does this look as great as it sounds?"_ asked Riley.

"Oh, yeah," Alex said.

Soon the security guards were dragging away Ben and Abigail, Ben screaming 'I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts'. Alex was taken along with them.

"I really must apologize," she tried to tell the guard over Abigail and Ben's continued argument, which had somehow gotten even louder.

" _That was brilliant_ ," Riley told them.

The trio were led down to the security office where they were taken to a holding cell. When at last the guards left, there was a stunned moment of silence before Ben and Alex burst out laughing.

"What is going on?" demanded Abigail.

"I'm sorry for getting you roped into this but I've got to say you were excellent back there," Ben told her.

She smiled and adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder. "Thank you. So were you."

"You too Little Sis."

Alex wanted to say something along the lines of, "oh, so you didn't forget I was there?" But instead she just said, "thanks Big Bro. I'm never letting you live that one down."

"Naw, I figured." Ben turned back to Abigail. "When did you figure out it was a fake argument?"

"When did you figure out I was really arguing during the fake argument? Hi Riley." Abigail leaned close to Ben's ear to speak into the earpiece.

" _You guys are so great together_."

"Uh huh. Hey Ri can you get us out of here please?" said Alex.

" _On it._ "

"So you want to know why we're here?" Ben asked. Abigail nodded. He leaned in and whispered. "We think there might be a clue on the Resolute Desk in the Queen's study."

Abigail stared back. Then she sighed. "I just don't see why it's so difficult for you to include others in your decisions."

" _Door one, opening_." There was a buzz and Alex opened the cell door.

"Thanks Ri."

"Okay let me try this out: Abigail, would you like to come along, please?"

Abigail rolled her eyes. "Yes. Thank you."

"Ridiculous, you're staying here with Alex. It's too dangerous."

"Hey, no fair. Besides, you got to do the whole fake argument thing." Alex pushed ahead of him.

"You're not coming."

"Call security," Abigail shot back, following Alex.

" _You should be near a service elevator_."

Large bouquets of flowers lined a nearby table and Ben scooped one up.

"Those for the Queen?" said Abigail.

"Queen's not here, there's no flag flying. She's at Windsor." Ben climbed into the service elevator. "Goodbye."

"Ben-"

The ladies were about to protest again, but footsteps down the hall stopped them.

"Get in!" cried Ben, dropping the argument, and the two ladies clambered inside.

"Just another Gates family trip," Alex mumbled as the elevator gave a lurch, carrying them further into the palace.

 _Haha, gotta love that scene in the palace! Too good! Thanks so much for reading! :)_


	9. The Next Clue

Chapter Nine

The Next Clue

After a very squishy ride in the small elevator, the three emerged into a long hall.

" _Okay now go left,_ " instructed Riley.

"It's a dead end."

" _I mean right, go right_."

"With your sense of direction we'll be lucky if we ever find it," Alex chuckled.

" _Love you too, Al_."

Following Riley's directions, the trio made their way down the hall until they reached it, the Queen's study. And there at the far end of the room stood the desk.

"There it is," said Ben. "The Resolute Desk. We're looking for writing, patterns in the carvings - could be anything." He lay on the carpet beneath the desk. "Hey look at this: _Malcolm Gilvary, 1880_."

" _Here, hold on a second... Malcolm Gilvary - well he didn't make furniture. He made Chinese puzzle boxes_ ," Riley informed.

Ben pulled open one of the drawers. "Ah..."

"What?" Abigail crawled under the desk and lay next to him.

"I think these drawers work like tumblers in a safe." Ben peeked out from beneath the desk. "Al, you keep watch."

"Seriously? You two get to have all the fun searching for clues on the Queen's desk, and I have to keep watch." Alex sighed, but posted herself by the door. "Well at least I have someone to talk to. Ri, we're in the Queen's study! The _Queen's_! It's really nice..."

"Okay so four drawers, a four digit combination..."

"Queen Victoria was born in 1819," Alex called from her post.

Ben and Abigail tried it. Nothing. "1876 was on the Statue in Paris, let's try that," suggested Ben. They tried it - there was a _pop_. They got to their feet, crawling out from under the desk to inspect it.

"What is it?" Alex came over to find a dark, old wooden plank bearing intricate markings.

"Uh oh," said Ben. "New rules. These markings look like Incan or Aztec."

"I've never seen symbols like this," gushed Abigail, running her fingers over the markings. "I mean this looks centuries older than Civil War."

"I can't read Aztec or Incan or whatever symbols they are, but I doubt they have anything to do with a plot to assassinate Lincoln," said Alex.

" _Uh oh_ ," came Riley's voice over the radio suddenly, breaking up their thinking circle. " _Get out of there guys - now_."

Ben tucked the plank into his suit jacket and they fled from the study.

" _Okay, let's make some noise..."_

About a minute later, as the three were hurriedly making their way through the hall, the fire alarm started blaring. Ben and Alex exchanged a knowing smile.

"Good one Ri."

" _God Save the Queen_."

Setting off the fire alarm had caused quite a scene as they soon discovered. Fire trucks with their alarms blaring pulled up in front of the palace while the security guards tried to calmly and quickly escort all the visitors out into the streets. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen, keep moving please."

"Can I see the thing?" Riley asked once they had all met up and made it off the palace grounds. Ben produced the plank and handed it to him. "Wow, I went to Buckingham Palace and all I got was this old piece of wood?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover," Alex reminded him.

"Oh no," said Ben suddenly.

"What?"

"I know who else is after the treasure."

"Who?" asked Alex.

"Wilkinson!"

 _I promise I will finish this story sooner or later! (hopefully sooner ;)) thanks so much for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoyed!_


	10. Just Another Gates Family Trip

Chapter Ten

Just Another Gates Family Trip

The four dashed to their rental car.

"Okay, I'll drive!" Riley jumped into the front seat - only there wasn't any wheel.

"We're in England," Ben reminded him, climbing into the other seat, the driver's seat. Alex and Abigail climbed into the back.

Ben started the car and turned on the back-up camera. "He's got a gun! Get down!"

Everybody ducked down just as the back window was shattered by a bullet.

Ben threw the car in reverse and began speeding backwards through the narrow streets. Finally, when they reached the main road, he began moving forwards. "Hold on!"

Wilkinson and his gang had acquired cars themselves, and were now in hot pursuit, the chase wreaking havoc in the streets of London.

"Left! Go left!"

"Turn turn!"

"Ben!"

Ben turned the next corner sharply, causing the car to skid to the side and smash into a bus, shattering the side windows.

"The rental company is not going to be very happy," muttered Alex.

"Good thing it's registered under Ben's name," added Riley.

"Everyone okay?" Ben called, but the others were too shocked to answer.

Next thing they knew they were forced to slow down, trapped behind a large truck transporting barrels of beer.

"Come on, come on," mumbled Ben impatiently. Peering through the rear-view mirror and seeing that Wilkinson was only getting closer, he pulled the car sharply around the truck, just as one of the men in pursuit of them started firing at them again, the bullets hitting the truck and sending the barrels of beer everywhere.

Suddenly, the tense silence amongst the four friends was broken by the shrill ringing of someone's cell phone. It was Abigail's.

"It's him."

"You have his number?!" Alex and Riley both cried.

"Oh shut up," she shot back as Ben snatched the phone from her hand.

"Mitch, this has got to end now before someone gets hurt."

" _Just give me what you found at Buckingham Palace and that won't be necessary_ ," the others could just make out from the other end.

"Tell that to my father," Ben replied before ending the call.

They were forced to slow down again as a large crowd had accumulated on the street in their path. Ben inched the car forward, repeatedly honking the horn. "What are all these people doing?"

"Why is everyone running?"

Looking behind them, the group saw that Wilkinson's crew had commandeered the beer truck and were now charging towards them, Londoners frantically trying to get out of the way.

"He's right there!" yelled Abigail. "Go!"

"Did I just run over a man's foot?!"

"Eyes on the road Ben!" screeched his sister. She cringed - they were making such a mess of the beautiful city.

Ben continued to swerve through the little, narrow streets, which seemed to be growing narrower. There was no way the truck could keep following them through here, could it?

Finally they were able to cut back onto the main road, only Wilkinson himself was still pursuing them in a car.

"He's still behind us," Abigail updated.

"Does this have a camera?" Ben held up her cellphone.

"No, it's broken."

He sighed and threw the phone onto the back seat. "Fine. Alright, give me the plank." Riley passed it to him. "Okay hold on - we're going to run a red light."

"What?!"

"It's been nice knowing you guys," Riley said.

Ben honked the horn to get some people off the street before speeding through a crosswalk, holding up the plank in front of himself. The traffic camera blinked.

"Riley, hack into the London police database and get a copy of that photo."

"Okey-dokey," Riley said half-heartedly back, already pulling out his laptop.

"You can't do it?"

"No, I can do it. I just don't like that you assume that I can do it."

"Ha, thank you Riley," agreed Abigail.

"There's not much technology-wise our Riley can't do," said Alex, squeezing his arm. This comment turned his whole face pink.

The road merged onto a bridge up ahead. Now both the car and the beer truck were pursuing them.

"But what was the point of that?" Alex asked as Riley hacked into the security photos.

"We're going to give them the plank," her brother replied.

"What?!"

"But we still need a copy for ourselves." Ben swerved the car around other drivers on the bridge, Wilkinson doing the same and pulling up alongside them. Ben rolled down the window, Wilkinson doing the same, and Ben reached out, plank in hand. Just when it looked like he would hand it over, he tossed it up and over the side of the bridge, and the engraved piece of wood went _plop!_ into the Thames below.

"Okay..." said Riley, obviously confused.

"You almost hit someone when you threw the plank!" Alex scolded her brother.

Ben didn't answer, but continued to speed down the road, leaving their pursuers behind with the clue.

Finally, when he felt they were far enough away, he drew the car to a halt, everyone sitting in silence, recovering.

"Just another Gates family trip, huh?" Riley eyed the siblings.

Brother and sister exchanged a sheepish glance. "Yeah..."

 _Poor London ;) Haha love that scene! Love the whole movie! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, thanks so much for reading! :)_


	11. Legend of Cibola

Chapter Eleven

Legend of Cibola

"Why is this a security camera photo?"

The Gates siblings, Riley, and Abigail were back home in America, and had promptly taken the photo of the plank to Patrick in hope of at least some translation. Alex kept fussing over her father, asking him if he was okay after Wilkinson broke in and attacked him, and he assured her that he was just fine.

Brother and sister exchanged a glance. "We'll explain later," Ben quickly brushed the question aside. "Can you read any of this, Dad?"

Patrick looked as though he wanted to question his children further, but turned back to the plank. "I can't make out the whole thing, but I can tell you that these are definitely pre-colonial Native American markings," he said, examining the security photo closely.

"Easily five-hundred years old," added Ben.

"Easily. I can identify one symbol though: look at this - do you know what this is?" Patrick pointed. "That symbol is Cibola."

"The City of Gold," gasped Alex.

"Gold?" Riley perked up.

Ben nodded. "The City of Gold."

"Let me guess: it's a city full of gold."

"Yes, Riley. And made of it." Ben went over to the bookshelf and produced one of the many books. "'In 1527 a Spanish ship wrecked on the Florida coast. There were only four survivors. One was a slave named Estebán who saved a local tribe's dying chief. As a reward he was taken to their sacred city, a city built from solid gold. Later, when Estebán tried to find the city again, he never could. But the legend grew, and every explorer came to the New World in search of it. When General Custer's search for gold ended with his last stand at Little Bighorn, it became clear that none would ever find it." He closed the book and everyone sat in silence, absorbing this.

"Can you imagine if the Confederates got their hands on the City of Gold," said Patrick. "My God."

"Yeah," said Riley, trying to include himself and make it look like he knew what they were talking about. "Terrible."

"So we're looking for the City of Gold," exclaimed Abigail.

"We're going to go talk to her," said Ben suddenly. Patrick understood immediately and now stared at his son, almost horrified. "And you're coming with us."

"No!" Patrick tried to scoot around the couch but Ben caught him. When he turned to try and flee again, his daughter blocked his path.

"Hey, no one else can translate it," Ben cried.

"Sure there's others! Lots of others!"

"For Ancient Native American? There's no one better," Alex reminded him, also agreeing with her brother's next plan of action.

"Look Ben, Alex, I can't go with you. It's been what, twenty-five years? There's a reason we haven't spoken in twenty-five years."

"Who?" asked Riley, completely oblivious. Abigail only giggled.

"Thirty-two," Alex corrected. "Thirty-two years, Dad."

Now Patrick looked surprised. "That long? Look, there's a reason we haven't spoken in thirty-two years: we have nothing in common."

"Me," said Ben.

"Me," said Alex.

"Oh well, yes, yes of course. And I'm sure she's just as proud of you both as I am."

"Who?" asked Riley again, still confused.

"Their mom," answered Abigail.

"Ohhhh..."

 _Haha so good! ;) Thanks so much for reading, hope you enjoyed! :)_


	12. Family Reunion

Chapter Twelve

Family Reunion

"Uh, I'm going to take myself out of the line of fire for this one guys," said Riley, sitting himself down in a chair outside the office. Patrick's anxiety about their meeting with Ben and Alex's mother had only made Riley nervous too. Alex rolled her eyes.

"I hate her!" A girl stormed from the very office they were just about to go into, brushing past them angrily.

"We're in the right place," Patrick stated. "You know what, maybe I'll wait out here too, keep Riley company-"

"No Dad! You're coming too." Reluctantly, he obeyed, and with that, followed his children into the office of Doctor Emily Appleton.

"Alexandra, Benjamin!" Emily cried when she saw them, hugging her children.

"Hi Mom."

"And Abigail! So nice to see you too! Hello sweetheart." She hugged her too. Then she turned to the last member of their party, Patrick. Her face instantly fell. "Oh."

Patrick looked to his children. "See, one word, a knife in the heart. She can do that you know."

"Yes, and I can also track the whereabouts of my toothbrush," Emily shot back.

"Here we go," mumbled Alex as their parents began to argue.

The siblings and Abigail stood there awkwardly for a few minutes as Patrick and Emily continued to have their heated argument about one of them forgetting to pack the toothbrushes on one of their trips - toothbrushes, really?

"Mom," tried Ben.

"Who was in charge of packing the luggage?"

"I couldn't fit the travel cases into the luggage because it was full with that stupid rug you bought! You thought it had some 'secret stitching' or something."

"It did have secret stitching!"

"Mom," Alex tried. But their parents only continued to argue.

"Mom!" Finally, they managed to break up the argument. "We need you to take a look at this." Ben handed her a printout of the security photo of the plank. "It's very interesting - we think it might be Olmec."

Emily put on her glasses and inspected the photo. "You're right, it is. Yes, yes, definitely proto-Zoquean. Hang on a minute - is this a security photo?"

Again, the siblings shared a guilty glance. "We were hoping you could translate it," jumped in Alex.

"Yes-" Emily eyed her children skeptically. Then she paused. "Oh this doesn't involve another treasure hunt, does it?"

"Mom, please. This is really important."

Emily sighed but turned back to the photo. "Alright. This, this glyph here means 'bird' - uh 'noble bird'-" Patrick moved to sit on the couch in the centre of the office, but stopped when she shot him a glare over the rims of her glasses. She pointed to the next symbol. Ben scribbled down what she said as she continued the translation. "'Find the noble bird, let him take you by the hand and give you passage to the sacred temple'-" She stopped then and looked around at the group, removing her glasses and letting out a small laugh. "Oh, you think this is a treasure map to Cibola don't you?"

"Well that's exactly what it is," Patrick said affirmatively.

"No, Patrick," scoffed Emily. "This glyph doesn't mean 'Cibola' it means 'the centre of the world'."

"You used to like it, remember. You fell in love with me on a treasure hunt."

Again, she scoffed. "Oh that wasn't love! That was excitement, adrenaline, and tequila. And I was just trying to get course credit."

This obviously hurt him. "Well the treasure hunting paid off, in case you haven't read the papers lately."

"That had nothing to do with you, that was Ben and Alex. They found the treasure, you did nothing." On that hurtful note, they fell silent.

"Mom, Dad, can we please just figure out what's on this plank," Alex prompted. She hated when her parents fought, especially in front of others. She was certain Riley could hear them from outside.

"Well that's it I'm afraid." Emily came back to inspect the photo one last time. "These glyphs are only partials, so you have only half of a treasure map. I'm sorry." She glanced back at Patrick and then mumbled, "though not that I'm surprised."

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Riley asked, joining Alex as they left the building after the meeting.

"Embarrassing."

"Did she translate the clue?"

"Yeah, but it looks like that plank was only half of the full clue."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, but at least we know where the rest of it is," Ben stated knowingly.

The others stopped. "We do?"

"You know where it is? Why didn't you tell me?" questioned Patrick.

"Cause obviously you have a tendency to overact!"

Patrick grimaced, then sighed. "I'm sorry. So where is it?"

"The inscription on the statue in Paris said 'these twins stand resolute'."

"So you think the map's divided between the two Resolute desks," Alex figured.

"That's right."

"Resolute desk," said Patrick. " _The_ Resolute desk? The president's desk?"

"The president? Which president? Our president?" questioned Riley. The others nodded. "Oh no..."

Patrick sighed. "Now why would I overreact to that?"

 _Haha! Oh another one of Ben's elaborate schemes that's bound to get them into trouble ;) hope you enjoyed, thanks so much for reading! :)_


	13. The Book

Chapter Thirteen

The Book

Alex sighed and leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat. She sat in Riley's red van, Riley himself sitting in the front seat next to her, tapping the wheel impatiently. Despite getting his beautiful new Ferrari, he hadn't been willing to part with his prized van. And good thing too, in the wake of his new car being towed.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. Clearly not. "Jealous again?"

Again, she sighed. "A little. I mean, I like Abigail, don't get me wrong. I really like her, and I think she and Ben make a good couple, I really do, it's just-" She stopped and sighed once more, collecting her thoughts. "Before, it was Ben and I, the sibling team. But now he seems to take her along to do all the fun stuff, like sneaking around the Oval Office looking for clues. He didn't even ask me if I'd like to come along."

Riley nodded, understanding. He too felt a little left out sometimes, especially when he was always surrounded by all these history nerds. "Well, put it this way: if they get caught, at least we don't get into trouble, right?"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Thanks Ri."

"Speaking of..." She looked out the window to see Ben and Abigail hurriedly making their way to the van. Patrick, who was parked across the street, go out of his car and came to meet them. They all congregated around the van.

"Did you find it?" Riley asked eagerly.

"No, it wasn't there."

"Oh - that really sucks-"

"The desk was empty."

"The brightest men in our country sat at that desk for over a hundred years," Patrick reminded them. "Of course one of them found it."

"Take a look at this." Ben produced a camera, showing them a photo he had taken while in the Office. "A symbol stamped into the wood."

"The presidential seal." Patrick peered over his son's shoulder.

"But it's not the presidential seal," Abigail remarked. "See the eagle's holding a scroll instead of olive branches."

"I don't know what this is," Ben admitted.

"Wait, really?" cried Riley. The great Ben Gates was, for once, at a loss of historical information. "Have none of you read my book?" The others remained quiet, avoiding eye contact with him. Alex raised her hand. "Thank you Alex," Riley said appreciatively. "You're right Abigail, this is a different symbol than the presidential seal, different entirely. The eagle clutching the scroll..."

"You know what this means?" Ben asked his friend.

"Yeah. But it's not something I can tell you, it's something I have to show you-" He paused, as if for dramatic effect. It was Riley after all. "-In my book." He turned back to Alex. "Al, I believe you have a copy with you?"

"I sure do-" Alex reached into the van and withdrew her copy.

"Chapter thirteen," he directed.

"Oh I loved this chapter!" she cried exciedly when she saw which one it was.

"Why thank you." Riley flashed her a grin.

"'The President's Secret Book'," Ben read from over his sister's shoulder, sounding skeptical.

"'The President's Secret Book'," Riley repeated. "It happens to be a collection of documents for presidents, by presidents, and for presidents' eyes only. And I'm not just talking about JFK here, guys. The eighteen and a half missing minutes of the Watergate tapes. Did the Apollo really land on the moon? Did it, did it?"

"And Area 51!" jumped in Alex.

"Thank you!" Riley pointed to her appreciatively.

The others only smiled and laughed in disbelief.

"Oh come on, Riley, that's an urban legend."

"Is it Abigail? Is it?"

"It's just, totally-"

"Crazy?"

"Yes!" Abigail couldn't help but laugh - it just sounded so absurd!

"Oh? And how about a map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Chase? Or the world's greatest treasure buried beneath a church in New York? Hmm? Cause last I checked, we pretty much make our living on crazy."

"True," agreed Alex.

"He's got a point," Ben admitted.

"Thank you."

Patrick tapped the photo in the book. "The same symbol, the eagle clutching the scroll."

"Exactly. It was released in '66 under the Freedom of Information Act," Riley continued, not about to stop now, obviously enjoying having all the information for once. "The eagle and the scroll - the secret symbol in the President's Book."

"So whatever was on that plank must be in that book now," Alex said, connecting the dots.

"Bingo!" Riley gave her another appreciative point, then raising his hand for a high-five.

Ben was still silent, lost deep in thought.

"Ben, if it was you trying to convince me, you would have less evidence and I would already believe you by now," Riley said.

Ben regarded him, still unsure.

"Come on, Big Brother," said Alex. "I say it's the best lead we have right now."

There was a few more moments of silence before Ben nodded.

"Well done, Mr. Poole," Alex said, linking her arm through Riley's as the group headed back to their respective cars. "You should try history more often - it suits you."

* * *

"All I need is a few minutes with him." The group once again sat in their main congregation spot, Patrick's living room. Ben had just returned from a visit to the FBI to meet with Agent Sadusky who had confirmed the book's existence. Riley was ecstatic to say the least.

The only catch however, was that only the president could get a hold of the book so for them it was quite out of reach.

"Ben, even if you were married to the president you wouldn't be able to get a few minutes with him," Riley pointed out.

"Not when he's surrounded by his handlers but if I can get him alone-"

"Yeah and how do you plan on doing that?"

Ben sighed before launching into his history storytelling mode. "Before the Civil War, the states were all separate. People used to say 'the United States are'. It wasn't until the war ended that people started saying 'the United States is.' Under Lincoln, we became one nation."

"And Lincoln paid for it with his life," Patrick reminded him firmly.

"And Thomas," added Alex.

"I know. We need to do this, and the only way we can is with the president's help." Ben sighed decidedly. "I'm going to kidnap him. I'm going to kidnap the president of the United States."

His declaration was met by silence, everyone far too slack-jawed to speak. That was until Riley spoke: "Wouldn't it just be easier to make an appointment?"

 _Haha! That line of Riley's was in the trailer but sadly not in the movie, and too bad cause it's a great line, as Riley's usually are! ;) Ah and here we go again with another one of Ben's crazy schemes - can't wait! ;)_

 _Also, I've got a new 'National Treasure' story in the works right now which I'll probably publish after I'm finished this one so please stay tuned if you're interested! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)_


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